The Bishop Museum was founded in 1889. The museum is actually a group of buildings each housing its own unique exhibits. The
Hawaiian Hall is currently undergoing renovation. It is scheduled to reopen in
Summer 2009. Parts of the building are now open to the public: See the Kahili room, which houses the elegant feather standards, which were the traditional symbols of the Hawaiian ali'i (rulers).
Upstairs, you will find the "
Peoples of the
Pacific" exhibit displaying costumes, masks, carvings, weapons, tools, and miscelleous artifacts from the
Pacific region.
Don't miss the Historic
Picture Gallery on the second floor which displays art from the
Bishop Museum's extensive collection.
The Castle Memorial Building contains traveling exhibits which change every few months. Quite often there are exhibits there that are geared toward children. The current exhibit features
Megalodon.
Past exhibits included:
Dinosaurs, the science of rollercoasters, sea monsters, and health-related topics.
The
Science Adventure Center focuses on the geology/geography of
Hawaii - volcanoes, plants, and animals.
The
Science Center has many exhibits that are interesting to both children and adults. The centerpiece of the museum is a walk-in volcano housing exhibits about the geology of volcanoes. You can see and touch the different types of lava rocks. There is a tunnel and a small slide for children.
Upstairs, you can look inside the mouth of the volcano and see the "molten lava".
Children can push buttons to show the effect of magma and gas on the volcano. Every
15 minutes or so the volcano will erupt!
A "kid-favorite" at the Science Center is the "Make your own wax volcano" exhibit. By turning a knob in one direction, you can make hot wax erupt and slowly build a volcano.
Another kid-favorite is the large tank of water with a deep-sea submersible that you can control. The attached video camera allows you to "see what it sees" on the screen in front of you.
The
Planetarium has an interesting exhibit on global warming and has shows scheduled throughout the day.
For more information on the Bishop Museum, go to
http://armchairhawaii.com/attractions/bishop/index
.html
- published: 23 Oct 2008
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